A Kyoto Night, Month by Month: Light, Heat and Rain

Weather does not decide whether a Kyoto evening runs. Light does. Sunset here moves two and a half hours across the year, and that single number decides whether the guided tours of Kyoto after dark you booked is a night walk or an afternoon one.

What the weather does to a night out in Kyoto

Three things, in order of how much they will change your evening. First, the light: sunset is 16:45 in early December and 19:15 at the start of July, so an identical 5:30pm departure is fully dark in one and fully bright in the other. One operator moves its summer departures into an early-evening slot for exactly that reason.

Second, the heat. Kyoto sits in a basin and holds temperature: highs in the high thirties with heavy humidity through July and August, and nights below freezing in January and February. On a three-hour walking tour that is the difference between pleasant and punishing, and it is why the evening slot is the one to take in summer.

Third, rain, which matters least. These are walking tours and the operators run them wet; one reviewer disagreed strongly enough to say the tour should have been called off, and that operator has since made rescheduling easier. If your booking refunds at 24 hours, moving a soaked date costs nothing.

Sunset on the first of each month, computed for Kyoto and checked against the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan's tables.

Kyoto month by month

January

Kyoto's coldest month, and its darkest evenings after December. Sunset is 16:56 on the 1st and 17:26 by the 1st of February, so a 5:30pm departure is fully dark start to finish. Daytime highs sit around 9°C and nights drop below freezing in the basin. Snow is occasional rather than reliable, and the streets are quiet.

February

Sunset moves from 17:26 to 17:52 across the month, which still gives you a properly dark two-hour walk from half past five. It is the coldest month by night and the least crowded of the year. Plum blossom starts at the end of it. Take a real coat: the walking is slow and you are standing still at every stop.

March

Sunset reaches 18:09 by the 21st, so an early departure now begins in daylight and ends in the dark, which is the best light of the year for the Higashiyama lanes. Evenings are cool rather than cold. Cherry blossom usually opens in the last week and the city fills sharply when it does.

April

The busiest weeks in Kyoto's year and the hardest to book. Sunset runs 18:18 to 18:34, so a 5:30pm walk spends its first hour in daylight. Evenings are mild and the blossom along the Shirakawa canal and in Maruyama Park is floodlit in places. Book several weeks ahead for anything capped at eight or fewer.

May

Comfortable, dry and still light: sunset moves from 18:42 to 18:58. This is the month where a ‘night’ walk leaving at half past five is really an evening walk, and the lanterns only take over in the last half hour. Daytime highs reach the mid twenties and the humidity has not arrived yet.

June

The rainy season, and the latest sunsets of the year so far at 19:06. Rain here is warm and persistent rather than heavy, and these operators run in it; the stone lanes photograph better wet. If your booking refunds at 24 hours, a wet forecast costs you nothing to move.

July

Sunset peaks at 19:15 on the 1st and 2nd, the latest of the year, so an evening tour starting at 5:30pm is a daylight tour for most of its length. Heat and humidity are at their worst, with highs in the mid thirties and nights that stay warm. The Gion Matsuri runs through the month and closes streets in the centre.

August

Kyoto's hottest month. Sunset slips from 19:00 to 18:38, and the evening is genuinely the best time to be outdoors: one reviewer books the night walk specifically because the daytime temperature was not bearable. Carry water and a hand towel. Highs in the high thirties are normal.

September

Sunset falls from 18:24 to 17:55, so full darkness returns to the second half of an evening walk. Heat lingers into the first half of the month and typhoons are possible through it. The crowds are thinner than either April or November, which makes it one of the better months to book late.

October

One of the best months here. Sunset runs 17:41 to 17:15, so a 5:30pm departure is dark almost throughout, and the evenings are cool and dry. Autumn colour starts in the hills at the end of the month. Arashiyama is at its best and its bamboo path is still completely unlit.

November

Autumn colour peaks and the city fills again. Sunset is 17:03 on the 1st and 16:48 by the 21st, giving you the longest genuinely dark evenings of the year outside December. Several temples run their own seasonal light-ups, which change year to year and are announced individually. Book well ahead in the second half of the month.

December

The earliest sunsets of the year: 16:45 through the first ten days, the earliest Kyoto gets. Every evening tour runs in full darkness, which is what most people picture when they book one. Nights are cold and dry, and the city is at its quietest between the colour and the New Year.

The seasons, and which one you want

For lantern light, book between October and February. Full darkness arrives before half past five, so a two-hour walk is two hours of the thing you came for, and the crowds are at their thinnest either side of the autumn colour.

For comfort, book April, May or October. Mild evenings, low humidity and dry stone underfoot, at the cost of an hour of daylight at the start of a walk in spring.

For the city at its emptiest, book January or February and dress for it. For the city at its fullest, book the first two weeks of April or the second half of November, and book weeks rather than days ahead.

Best time of the evening to be out

The half hour either side of sunset is when the Higashiyama lanes are at their best: the sky still has colour in it and the lanterns are already lit. That is why the walks that leave at 5:20pm and 5:30pm hit golden hour in autumn and winter and miss it entirely in June.

It is also when geiko and maiko cross between appointments, which is the practical reason the walks are timed the way they are. After about half past seven the district quietens and the evening becomes about the architecture rather than the people.

Booking around the weather

Two months are hard to book and the rest are not. Early April and the second half of November fill weeks ahead, because that is when the blossom and the colour are. Everything else takes a few days' notice.

The refund window does the rest. Almost all of these evenings give you a full refund if you cancel more than a day ahead. Book the date you want, and move it if the forecast turns.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time of year for a Kyoto night tour?

October to February, if lantern light is what you want. Sunset is before 5:30pm through all five months, so the whole of an evening walk happens in the dark. April, May and October are the most comfortable to walk in, and April and November are the hardest to book.

Do Kyoto night tours run in the rain?

Almost always. These are walking tours through streets, shrine grounds and restaurant interiors, and operators treat rain as weather rather than a reason to cancel. If your booking refunds at 24 hours and the forecast is heavy, moving the date is free.

Is it too hot in Kyoto in summer for a walking tour?

The daytime is; the evening is why these tours exist. Highs reach the high thirties in July and August with heavy humidity, and the evening is when the city becomes walkable again. Carry water and a hand towel.

How cold does Kyoto get at night in winter?

Below freezing in January and February, with the basin holding the cold. One operator states −5°C in its own listing. It is entirely walkable in a proper coat, and these are the quietest and darkest evenings of the year.

For what is open once it is dark, see Kyoto night attractions; for the practical side, what to expect. The Kyoto Night Tours homepage lists every departure.